Food - Drink
The Silk Road City Known As The ‘Baklava Capital Of The World’
By NATASHA BAILEY
Turkey is one of the world's largest producers of pistachios, and the region of Gaziantep is the epicenter, with roughly 22 million pistachio trees in the area. It's no wonder why Gaziantep is strongly associated with pistachio baklava or "Antep baklavasi," a Turkish delicacy that dates back to the 11th century C.E.
Gaziantep, sometimes called by its previous names Aintab or Antep, is located in Turkey’s southeastern region. The city was once a wealthy agricultural hotspot on the Silk Road and was taken over by figures such as Alexander the Great, but today, Gaziantep is best-known as the baklava capital of the world.
Gaziantep baklava consists of flaky phyllo dough filled with semolina cream and Antep pistachios, drenched in syrup and baked. The New York Times reports Gaziantep has 100 baklava shops and produces 90% of the baklava that Turkey eats in a year, and the dessert is even under protected status by the European Union.